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US President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a warning to Iran, after it vowed to give a strong response to US-Israel joint strikes that resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Iran must not take such a step, otherwise it will result in a strong attack with a "force which they have never seen before." "Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. They better not do that, however, because if they do, we will hit them with a force that has never been seen before," President Trump wrote on Truth Social. According to Press TV, Iran termed the death of its Supreme Leader Khamenei as a "crime of assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution will not go unpunished" and asserted that the "pure blood of the martyred Leader will uproot the criminal regimes of the US and Israel." Iran is observing 40 days of public mourning following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Reuters reported, citing Iranian state media. In Shia Islam, the 40th day after death (Arba'een) holds immense spiritual weight. The death occurred following strikes by the US and Israel (Operation Epic Fury/Lion's Roar) on Saturday. By announcing exactly 40 days of mourning, the government is leaning into a powerful cultural script, providing the clerical establishment time to manage the transition behind closed doors. Ayatollah Khamenei was the successor to the Revolution's founder, Ruhollah Khomeini. Since 1989, his "story" was one of unwavering defiance against Western influence. Authorities have heightened security across the country, particularly in major cities like Tehran, to prevent unrest and ensure public safety. Attention is focused on the process of selecting Khamenei's successor, with speculation about potential candidates and the impact on Iran's future leadership. However, meeting under wartime conditions is difficult, and the question remains, who "owns" the future of the Republic--the clerics or the Revolutionary Guard-- the most urgent cliffhanger. His death is being portrayed by state media as the Martyrdom of the Guardian, framing his end not as a defeat, but as a final sacrifice for the sovereignty of the nation. As per Tasnim News, Khamenei was killed while at the workplace in the early hours of Sunday. The official Farsi account of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei acknowledged his death and posted a verse from the Quran from Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:23, which translates to "Among the believers are men who have been true to the covenant they made with Allah. Some of them have fulfilled their vow [by death], and some are still waiting, and they have not changed [their commitment] in the least." (ANI)
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